"There's nothing more we can do for you."
Hearing those words from my physiotherapist was incredibly depressing. I received that bleak news in early 2005, while I was still trying to heal from an accident I'd had two years before. I had gone down a waterslide at a hotel and hit a concrete wall at the bottom, breaking a bone in one foot and spraining both ankles.
After the accident, my doctor recommended physiotherapy and very low-impact aquafit. It helped my ankles somewhat, but I still had to walk with a cane, my ankles tired easily, my stamina was low and my balance was severely compromised. I had a Type-A personality, and was a bit of an overachiever, single and incredibly focused on my job in contract administration. I had studied ballet and loved swimming and hiking. My mother would sometimes describe an elderly woman as being "unsteady on her pins." I had become that person. But I was only 42 years old.
The gloomy pronouncement from my physiotherapist lead to a decision that has turned my health around: a renewed commitment to Taoist tai chi, a practice that I had tried briefly several years earlier but had given up because of work and life commitments.
What is Taoist tai chi?
There are many styles of tai chi, which can vary in terms of the pacing of exercises as well as the number and types of moves. Taoist tai chi was developed by the late Master Moy Linshin, founder of the International Taoist Tai Chi Society based in Toronto. There are 500 branches in 25 countries around the world, making it one of the most accessible forms of tai chi. Taoist tai chi involves a set of 108 moves (don't worry, many of them are repetitions) and seven basic foundation exercises. They are designed to improve your physical, mental and spiritual well-being. To many people, this form of tai chi looks like a gentle martial art or a low-impact exercise. Others describe it as slow-moving meditation.
I originally started my practice of Taoist tai chi in 1997, at a branch of the society in Newmarket, Ont., that I had discovered on my daily drive to work. The slow-moving exercises, the gentle turning and the graceful stretches appealed to me. I was a quick study and easily grasped moves such as "White Stork Spreads Wings" and "Flying at a Slant." The beauty of Taoist tai chi is that the sequence of moves engages every muscle, ligament and tendon in your body. I could feel my body relaxing and my flexibility improving within the first few weeks of practice. I regretted having to give it up at the time, but it was the memory of how tai chi made me feel that compelled me to try it again in 2005.
Fate was smiling on me then. Just as I was primed to start a beginner's class I heard that the society was about to host one of its monthly Health Recovery Weeks at its retreat centre in Orangeville, Ont. It's a week-long program of intense tai chi for beginners and experienced practitioners alike. I took the plunge and signed up for the whole program.
Page 1 of 3 -- Find out just how tai chi helped speed Heather's recovery on page 2.
Comment reported
Thank you for reporting this comment as inappropriate.
Back to Comments »